The highly contagious UK strand of COVID-19 has been detected in Northern Virginia, the Virginia Department of Health has announced.
Information of the patient's gender and city are currently unreleased, but the individual has not travelled recently.
The Virginia Department of Health's statement “associated [the variant[ with increased person-to-person transmission of COVID-19.”
“Viruses change all the time, and we expect to see new strains as disease spreads,” said State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, MD, MA. “We know this variant strain spreads more quickly between people than other strains currently circulating in our communities, but we still have more to learn about whether it causes more severe illness. As our state public health officials closely monitor the emergence of the B.1.1.7 variant in our Commonwealth, it is important that all Virginians continue following mitigation measures.”
There are approx. 200 cases of the UK strand being identified in the United States. Two cases were identified in Anne Arundel County, Maryland earlier this month.
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